Is this real life?

It's currently Monday night... we've been here since Thursday morning but we left home Tuesday afternoon. If time was already a confusing concept it has reached a whole new level of confusion. We are 15 hours ahead of Boston and my whole mind has been out of whack since we left. The plane ride seems like a distant dream. It actually wasn't that bad considering the flight from Boston to Dallas was 4.5 hours, then a 3 hour layover, then a 16.5 hour flight from Dallas to Brisbane. I got to watch Modern Family and drink free wine on the longer flight and that's when I decided that I love Australia.

I never really prepared myself for the culture shock because I just assumed that Australia was going to be very similar to America. WRONG. This is my first time leaving the US and I feel like I am on Mars. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still, there are a ton of differences. They have this crazy slang and it sounds like they're slurring their words all the time. We don't go to "school" or "college", we go to "uni". If you order a chocolate milkshake, you will just get a big cup of chocolate milk (we learned the hard way- you have to order a "thickshake" instead). Also, no one is fat here. Seriously, no one. And they're all beautiful. The men, the women, the kids, the old people- all gorgeous. And SO NICE. People actually look you in the eyes when they walk past you and smile. No one is just walking around with their face glued to their phone; it's so refreshing. 

The nightlife is totally different too. Instead of a townhouse party, we are at these crazy bars and clubs in the middle of the city. Having the city so close is awesome. We live in South Bank, which is the south part of Brisbane, but can easily walk 10 minutes and be in the middle of the city. Taking the train is quicker, but we have to pay. We have to pay for EVERYTHING. Luckily, we've already mastered the art of getting guys to pay for our drinks. 

To get to ACU (Australian Catholic University), we have to take the train and then a school shuttle. The whole process takes about an hour each way which is a pain in the ass. Luckily, I only have class on Mondays and Tuesdays. Caroline and I are both doing a marketing internship at ACU, so we'll have to be there other days of the week, too. We don't start class for another two weeks. We're going to the gold coast this weekend and have no idea what we're doing. We basically never have any idea what we're doing. It's terrifying and awesome at the same time.